This invention relates to fuzing systems for projectiles.
The present invention has one application in tank weapon systems, though not limited thereto. Normally, the ammunition carried by a tank for use in its main gun is primarily intended to destroy other tanks and is therefore designed to penetrate, or otherwise overcome, thick armour plating. Such ammunition may be solid shot, or may be various types of explosive rounds, e.g. shaped-charge devices, fitted with impact fuzes. For some other kinds of targets, however, such as "thinskinned" vehicles, troops in the open, or low-flying helicopters, a direct hit is not essential and is sufficient for a projectile to explode in the air in the vicinity of the target to inflict adequate damage or casualties. Clearly also, the chances of destroying or damaging such "soft" targets are greater if a direct hit is not required.
Systems which cause a projectile to explode in the vicinity of a target are known, e.g. shells fitted with clockwork fuzes which operate a predetermined time after leaving the gun, the time being set manually in accordance with the known velocity of the projectile and the predetermined range to the target. However such rounds are unsuitable for use with tanks, in which the gun is usually kept loaded ready for immediate use and the fuze mechanism is thus inaccessible. Proximity fuzes are also known, e.g. incorporating a Doppler radar system, but although suitable for normal anti-aircraft use, proximity fuzes are unsuitable for use near the ground because they are liable to be triggered by objects other than the target, e.g. by trees or the ground itself. It is one object of the present invention to provide an alternative fuzing system more suitable for use by tanks against "soft" targets.